I stared down at my shoes again, trying not to cry. “What’s left?” I asked.
“Not much, honestly. The fallout is dangerous and covers a huge area. Especially Russia’s bomb. Everyone had to evacuate, which caused really tight spaces, which caused a lot of violence. The fallout not only contaminated the existing crops, livestock, and waterways, but they are saying we can’t grow anything in those areas for years to come. Even if we could grow any kind of food somewhere else, it wouldn’t be enough. Not only that, but even if it was enough, everything would die soon anyway due to the nuclear winter that’s coming.”
Smith began to bawl. We all cried. I closed my eyes, trying to cope with everything we’d just learned. It was different hearing it in person than on T.V. It felt more real.
“So, Earth is done?” asked Garrett.
“Yeah, for a while, at least.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to get everyone off of Earth and to Circadia? In time, I mean,” asked Jane.
“No,” he said. “There is no possible way that we are going to get everyone off of Earth in the time we need to, nor do we have the resources to do so. People were beginning to realize that just before we left, and it was creating a panic, rightfully so. There will be millions on Earth that will die.”
The group stopped walking. I felt sick to my stomach, and vomiting ensued. Non-stop emesis overcame me. Jane patted my back and held my hair. I continued to listen, though.
“How will they choose?” asked Spencer. “How the hell will they choose who has to stay? How will they choose who lives and who dies?” His anger was evident.
“Does it matter?” the foreman replied defensively. “No way is going to be the right way to choose, is it? It doesn’t matter how they choose, they just have to be sure to do it.” His cold reply left me with shivers. Surely not everyone on the planet agrees with him.
The questions stopped after that, and we continued walking. I’m not sure if the questions ceased because there were no more questions, or the fact that we didn’t want to know anymore.
Chapter Thirteen
When we made it back to camp, it was clear other groups had experienced the same heartbreak. It was a strange feeling. All of the original group was mourning extreme loss, while the new group had already moved on from the loss and were excited to be on Circadia and start anew. The motivations of the two different sides were unmatched, which created a bit of tension.
The next day, the newcomers suggested that we get to work and begin the journey. We had already begun the adventure and needed a day of rest. To channel their energy, Ronald set them to building more huts for themselves. They began to work diligently, while we all consoled each other and slept.
The next morning, my body ached. I had cried so much throughout the night that my attempts to stifle the noise caused my muscles to burn. My eyes were puffy and inflamed from being rubbed for hours. Crawling out of my hut, I noticed that the newcomers were already up and dressed, ready for the day.
Idris was also up, and I was thankful for that. We needed a leader right now, and he was the perfect man for the job. Idris was always on top of things, always considerate but firm, and after seeing his face, I looked forward to the day ahead.
As others emerged from their huts, Idris called for everyone to gather ‘round, newcomers and residents alike. He climbed atop a box so that his voice would carry farther and everyone could see him clearly. Our group was too large now to just have a conversation.
“Good morning, and welcome.” His voice echoed through the field. “This is a strange time for Circadia. Some of you are dealing with loss. Some of you are starting a new beginning. We have to work together to make those two emotions work together, and do it well. We have all experienced loss, just at different times. Now we all need to have the same goal—that of creating a new world and saving as many lives back home as possible. Don’t think about what you can’t change, focus on what you can. We have the opportunity to make a huge impact on history, so let’s make it a great one.” The sincerity echoing in his voice was enough to soothe. Glancing around, I noticed people were captivated by this new idea and it gave me hope. The volume of his voice slowly rose to a roar. “So, let’s join together. As one. As Circadians!” The battle cry was enough to make us scream in approval.
The joy I felt during that moment was immense. We were going to make this world ours. Sure, we had a few obstacles to overcome, but nothing could get in our way. We were all a team. We had suffered the same losses, and we were in it together. No matter what.
Ready to start the day, I went straight to the foreman my team and I had talked to the day prior. I held out my hand for a handshake and smiled. He looked at me strangely. “I’m William Porter, what’s your name?” he said.
I hesitated, but only for a moment. “My name’s Aella. I think we are going to be a great team,” I said. “Would you and your crew be willing to help me?”
William looked at me with speculative eyes. “Miss Aella, I don’t even know what department you’re in. You never told us. What project are you working on?”
I laughed. “I guess I did leave that part out, huh? Well, I’m part of the agricultural team, and I am an agronomist. So, I need to get growing some food. Think you can help with that?”
“Probably so,” he winked. “Let me go get my team rounded up. Meet us over by the supply hull with some people from your team. We’ll go find the rabbits and grab some tools we were sent up with.”
“Did you say rabbits?” My excitement was apparent. “How?”
“Whoa, slow down. Since the whole thing on Earth happened, a few more experts jumped in to analyze what you all had to deal with up here. They decided you weren’t exactly equipped with the essentials,” he said. “Someone down there had a pretty good idea that we were going to need some help with getting more food quickly. I hear rabbits multiply a lot quicker than pigs.”
“That’s amazing! I can’t wait to tell Spencer. I’ll go get everyone together and we will meet you over there.” I ran away with a bit of a squeal. I was so excited. It seemed that one of our biggest problems was about to get a little boost.
Quickly, I ran to Spencer. “Spencer!” I yelled as I approached him. “Spencer, the newcomers brought rabbits on the ship with them! Rabbits!”
His look of surprise and excitement mirrored mine. “No way, that’s incredible! Where are they? Are they full grown? What breed?” His questions were unending.
“I don’t know, I have no idea. We are going to go meet the foreman with his crew now, though, and they are going to show us. Do we have stuff for cages?”
“Well, we don’t have technical cages, but it wouldn’t take long to build them one. I bet they’re getting hot in that pod, though. They'll need to get out soon. Rabbits don’t handle heat very well,” he said.
“Should we do that before we go to meet them?”
“Probably, but we’re gonna have to make it quick.” he said.
Spencer instructed me to go grab leftover sticks from the area around the saw mill, and stick them into the ground, spaced in one inch increments. He then laid bushy brush down on top of the sticks to create shade and shelter. “This will have to do for now. It will keep them cool, dry, and contained for the time being,” he said.
Quickly, we gathered Garrett and Smith to help. Jane was busy with the chem team so we didn’t bother her. We walked swiftly to the meeting area behind the supply hull. The crew and foreman stood waiting for us.
“I heard about the rabbits.” Spencer said anxiously. “What breed are they?”
The foreman spoke through his chuckles, “I have no idea what kind of rabbits they are. All I know is that they’re rabbits. Everything else is nonsense I didn’t need filling my head.”
Spencer nodded his head quickly and continued to walk at a brisk pace with the group. The foreman led the way, using a GPS tracker on the pod, similar to the ones we had in our helmets upon landing. It was easy to locate the little r
ed dot on the map, and it wasn’t far away.
When we arrived, we realized the hatch had already been opened. “Was someone already here?” Smith asked, his gaze fixed on the wide-open door.
“Nah, it was programmed to do that, that way the rabbits don't suffocate. They stress out easily, you know,” one of the men from the crew stated.
“We’re lucky there are no hawks here on Circadia to eat them. On Earth, that would be like monkeys in a barrel,” Spencer said. ‘Anyways, let’s get them out of there. Ever carried a rabbit before?” His question was directed at Garrett, who looked like he had never once touched a farm animal in his life.
“No. Not exactly,” Garrett said. His tone was dry.
The pod was smaller than the crew’s, so it was easier for the guys to climb to the top. Spencer dropped into the pod and began handing the rabbits out to the crew members by their feet. Working in an assembly line fashion, people handed the squirming rabbits down the line until it met with someone who was running back and forth between the pod and the new containment areas. The process went quickly and efficiently with so many people. It made me wonder how other teams were doing with all the extra help. It was astounding how quickly a task could be done with more people.
LATER THAT NIGHT, WE realized what the tax of having such a luxury was. During dinner, the lead nutritionist stood up and said that she had some new information for us. “We are so glad to have the newest citizens of Circadia with us. This is our first dinner together. I just wanted to make everyone aware of what is going into meal times. There are four hundred of us now. That’s a lot. I don’t know if you are aware or not, but we are also ensuring that the livestock has food. So, to say that today was exhausting would be an understatement,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing with the helpful crew all pitching in, but I want you all to understand how much food it takes to make one meal. Just for this dinner alone, we used three whole pigs. You can see how much meat is on your plate—very little. We spent four hours gathering native leafy greens to provide eighty pounds of vegetables. Your personal serving of these vegetables is very small. It took collecting one hundred gallons of water from the stream, boiling it, and cooling it to provide everyone with two glasses of water during their meals.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “What I’m trying to say is, we are going to have to do meal times differently now. We would like to work with the agricultural team on a plan that is sustainable, but for now, realize that rations will be small and we apologize.”
Idris stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded and sat down. Idris spoke, “For now, only the rations are changing. You will still come to meal time just as we have been doing. I encourage those of you who finish your work days early to lend a hand to our nutrition team if you have time. They could use the help. If you can spare any people from your crews, send them this way. Tomorrow, the agricultural and nutritional teams will have a meeting to get an idea of what exactly our needs are, and what we are going to do about meeting them. For now, everyone enjoy this delicious meal. Have a wonderful night.” He sat down, and I could immediately feel the stress start to consume me.
How were we possibly going to get enough food to support and sustain the people around us without ruining our future productivity? We had to give the rabbits and pigs time to breed and multiply. Even the rabbits would take a fair amount of time. The crops that were not even in the ground yet would need time to grow. How could we possibly have thought this was going to work? I tried to clear my mind, but the thoughts wouldn’t subside.
I didn’t sleep at all that night. While lying awake in my hut, listening to the crackle of the small fire in the center, the best idea came to me. And almost as soon as the idea came, I was fast asleep.
Morning came fast, but I was ready for the day. I quickly got dressed in clean clothes, pulled my long brown waves into a ponytail, and set out. Everyone was gathered around the large fire pit where most of the cooking was done. My team stood around while some sat among the nutrition team.
“Guys, I have a great idea!” I announced.
“You’re late...” Smith muttered.
“Okay, here it is. At home, when you needed groceries or you were about to cook a meal, you went to the grocery store and got exactly what you wanted, right?” Everyone stared at me silently. I continued on anyway. “Right! There is not as much waste at home as there is in institutions because people pick and choose what they want at home. Why would you spend money on something you didn’t want, right? We need to do that here.”
“What are you talking about?” the lead nutritionist said, becoming defensive. “We don’t have the means to set up a grocery store here, and we don’t have currency. So, tell me how that is going to work.”
“You’re missing the point, I think. We don’t want currency here, right?” I didn’t realize this until I said it. Back home people slaved their lives away working for a paycheck, just so that they could live. I wanted it to be different here. I wanted living and providing for yourself to just be a way of life. I wanted it to be part of the journey, not a sentence. Everyone in the meeting nodded slowly in approval. It was clear the thought hadn’t crossed their minds either, but they were certain that currency was not a wanted ideal on Circadia.
“So, what are we talking about here, then?”
“For a while, we continue to work with our crews and groups. Agricultural team grows crops, raises livestock and such. Medical team continues doing medical stuff. Solar team continues creating energy and electricity... so on, etcetera. So, for a bit, you guys continue preparing small rations of an assortment of food. People will eat it or starve. It sounds harsh, and it is, but if we all have the same goal we can handle it. Once we have a base setup, then I think we should allow people to harvest and cook their own food. Of course, if they need assistance, they can always speak with you or the medical team. Otherwise, they create their own diet.” Everyone looked enticed and nervous all at the same time. “Instead of spending your hard-earned money on food, you spend your hard-earned effort on food. If you have to process and prepare your own food, you are not going to want to be wasteful. Not to mention all the food that will be saved from being thrown away because something is not cooked the way someone likes it or due to different tastes. Not only that, but it would cut down a lot of work for you all. What do you think?”
The two teams narrowed their eyes at me. I could see that it was a lot to process.
“It’s going to be rough for a bit, and you all better get your asses in here to help us when you can, but I think that sounds like an awesome idea, Aella,” said one woman from the nutrition team.
“I like the idea that money is not an object anymore, it will be how hard you want to work that will get you ahead,” said Smith. “If you don’t put forth effort, you don’t eat. Seems pretty straightforward to me.” He smiled at me.
Idris joined in, “We agreed before that everyone who lives on Circadia would have to provide for themselves and carry their own weight. Self-sustainability is a necessity and a virtue here.”
Chapter Fourteen
Once the meeting was over and everything was agreed upon, Idris announced the decision and the reasoning to the group members. All heads nodded in agreement. It was easy to see that we were all in this together. It was beautiful. Never had I ever seen so many people not make a fuss and just agree with a plan. This was Circadia, though, and the people who were here were here for a reason.
With that being said, there was a lot of work to be done. I got to it immediately. I finally had help to lift my center pivot watering system and hook it up to a pump from the creek near the field we would be working. Jane and the chem team had found metals and had welded some of it into pickaxes and shovels we could use to work the ground. The field was difficult to till by hand, due to the layers of dead flower weed atop the ground. I wondered why all of the dead underbrush had not decomposed, and blamed it on the freeze as Circadia traveled across space. The underbrush,
once tilled in, would help keep the soil fluffy and conducive to plant growth. Biomatter was an important asset to any type of soil, and it was abundant on Circadia.
Soon enough, the entire field was tilled and churned. We then moved the soil into rows to be seeded. I carefully searched the cargo hull until I found a tiny, plain cardboard box layered with plastic inside to keep the contents dry. It contained two small pouches, each of four different types of seed: soybean, corn, wheat, and rice. Outside of the packets was another bag filled with the beginning stems of potatoes. There were not very many potato starts, but like everything else, it would be able to multiply and grow. I put everything back into the box and hauled it out to the field.
A couple people paired together and chose one type of plant. They were sure to research the spacing and depth of the planting process in the book that I had brought with me. After that, they began planting the seeds. We gently watered each individual seed with the clay pots we had made one night by the fire. We would take gentle care of each individual plant until they were less fragile.
After we had sowed the seeds in the soil, all that was left was maintenance and care. For a bit, I sat near the field and stared at the wet spots on the ground. I knew better, but I just wanted to see a sprout pop up, really let us know that it was going to be okay. But a watched pot never boils, so I went for a run.
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